Automotive vehicle



May 26, 1936. H. E. swlr-T 2,042,079

` AUTOMOTIVE VEHICLE Original Filed April 24, 1930 2 Sheets-Sheet l :gulli-iii May 26; 1936. H. E. SWIFT AUTOMOTIVE VEHICLE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Original Filed April 24, 1930 il ATTORNEYJ Patented May 26, 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT orFicE AUTOMOTIVE VEHICLE Original application April 24, 1930, Serial No. 446,869. Divided and this application June 25,

1932, Serial N0. 619,206.

8 Claims.

The presentinvention relates toI motor vehicles and more particularly to a new and improved fifth wheel lock for coupling together a vtractor unit and a trailer unit.,

Objects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in part hereinafter and in part will he, obvious herefrom, or may be learned by practice with the invention, the. same being realized` and attained by means of the instrumentalities m; and combinations pointed out in the appended claims.

The invention consists in theY novel parts, construction, arrangements, combinations and improvements herein shownand described.

The accompanying drawings, referred to-herein and constituting a part hereof, illustrate one em.- bodiment of the invention, and together with the description, serve toexplain the principles of the invention.

Of the drawings:-

Fig. 1 is a detailed fragmentary plan of the coupling mechanism carriedby the tractor unit, certain parts being broken away;

2 is` a vertical section taken on the line 25 2.--2-` of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a detailed plan View of the. coupling mechanism carried by theA trailer unit, with certain parts broken away Fig. 4 is a vertical cross section taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a detailed fragmentary plan; View of the coupling mechanism showing the parts in uncoupling position; and

Fig. 6- isa View similar to Fig. 5, with the parts locked in coupled relation.

The present invention has forV its object the provision of a novelA and improved fifth wheel lock for use with semi-trailers. A furtherv object is the provision of a fifth wheel coupling mechanism comprising! a relatively few inexpensive Parts. In certain aspects the present invention isy an improvement upon the construction shown in the patent to Martin and Farr No. 1,412,025 but in other aspectsit is not so limited.

Asis usual, the trailer unit comprises a semitrailer in which the load is carried in part by one or more pairs of wheels near the rear end of the trailer frame, and` in part by the motor truck to which the front end of the trailer unit is coupled, and the; present invention provides coupling means for supporting the weight of the front end of the trailerand forcoupling the motorv truck and trailer unit together in driving 55- relatiom Renewed October 24,

The coupling means of the present invention comprise a fifth wheel mechanism having means for pivotally and yieldingly coupling the trailer unit to the motor vehicle and one of the cooperating fth wheel members is preferably pivotally mounted on and supported by the frame of the motor truck. As embodied, a pair of relatively heavy and strong armsy are riveted or otherwise securely fastened to the longitudinally extending body frame members at either side of the motor truck. Near their rear ends, these arms are eachprovided with apertures into which is fastened a shaft 26 extending from one arm' to the other and transversely of the body frame of the motor truck, which shaft pivotally sup-- ports the lower fifth wheel member 2.1, toy be coupled with the cooperating ffthwheel member carried by the` trailery unit. Y

As shown in detail in the accompanying drawings, the lower fth wheel member 21 comprisesy a generally circular casting 28 provided with a longitudinal opening having rearwardly divergent sidesV 29 between the rearwardly extending ears 30 which project beyond the general circular contour of the fth wheel member providing an opening gradually diminishing forwardly of the fifth wheel to. guide the king pin carried by the upper and cooperating fifth wheel member. Near, or at, its periphery and on the upper face of the lower fifth wheel is formed a narrow track 3l to form a bearing or supporting surface cooperating with a similarly shaped portion on the lower side of the cooperating upper fth wheel member.

At either side of the casting are formed downwardly extending portions 32-provided with boxlike recesses 33 to receive and retain the opposed springs 34 and to permityielding. movement of the trailer unit relative to the tractor unit or motorv truck. At either side of the casting and intermediate these boxes is provided an opening 3 5; which together with the plate 36 closing the lower side of the box-like recesses 33 forms a slideway in which` is fitted a slidable block 31 whichI is rotatably mounted on the supporting shaft 26 and these slidable blocks at either side of the fth wheel pivotallyY and yieldingly support the lower fth wheel memberv on the supporting shaft 2,6V which is mounted on. the` frame of the motor truck.

The upper fth wheel member 38, to cooperate with the lower fifth wheelmember just described, ispreferably of substantially standard construction andY comprisesL a cross member 39 securely fastened togthe longitudinally extending;v frame Vmembers I4 of the semi-trailer and is provided with a king pin 40 at its center, and a circular bearing surface or track 4l, corresponding in shape and size to the supporting track 3| around the periphery of the lower fifth wheel member carried by the truck. The king pin 45, as is usual, is formed with an enlarged portion 42 at its lower end to prevent the king pin being raised out of coupling relation with the lower fth wheel member, once the two fifth wheel members have been coupled together.

Locking means are provided for couplingthe Vfifth wheel members together and for preventing the trailer from being pulled apart from the motor truck after the two vehicles have been coupled together. As embodied, these means comprise a pair of locking dogs 44, at either side of the longitudinal and rearwardly extending opening in the lower fth wheel member, these dogs being pivoted to the under surface of the lower fth wheel casting by pins 45 and being provided with concave faces 46 to engage the king pin on the upper iifth wheel. The dogs are preferably so positioned relative to the opening, to each other, and to Vthe king pin 40, that a rearward pull on the king pin tends to press the dogs more firmly together and securely holds the king pin in engagement with the lower fifth wheel member.

Y For openingeand closing the dogs to lock and release the king pin, the dogs are each formed with an eccentric slot 41 adapted to be engaged by pins 49 carried by the rear forked ends 5l of the lock operating slide 50 `which is slidably mounted on the under side of the lower fifth wheel casting 28 in suitable alined guideways formed in depending webs 52. For moving the dogs 44 away from each other for the purpose of unlocking the king pin 40 and uncoupling the vehicles, operating slide 50 is preferably connected by means of a cord or cable with an operating handle located near the drivers seat, on the tractor (not shown) so that bypulling on the handle, the operator may pull the operating slide 50 forwardly, thereby moving the dogs into the position shown in Figure 5, so that the king pin easily slips past the dogs and permits the vehicles to be uncoupled. It is, of course, understood that prior to uncoupling the vehicles, the operator will lower a prop for supporting the front end of the trailer unit after it has been released from the motor vehicle.

In order to facilitate coupling and uncoupling of the trailer unit, the inner and adjacent sides of dogs 44, are preferably both rearwardly and forwardly divergent, so that as the motor truck is backed toward the trailer unit to couple the vehicles together, the dogs will be automatically moved apart until theV king pin is in the center of the lower fth wheel, when the spring 54 will act to move the operating slide rearwardly to close the dogs together. The forwardly divergent sides are provided to insure uncoupling of the vehicles after the operator has moved the dogs apart to a considerable extent, but not necessarily a sucient amount to space them a greater distance from each other than the diameter of the king pin.

As embodied, means are preferably provided forinsuring the tilting of the lower fifth wheel member into the position shown by Figure 2 of the drawings so that it will be held in position ready to be coupled with the cooperating fth wheel member carried Vby Athe trailer unit, and for thisV purpose a spring lill may be proviqd,

connected to the lower side of the fifth wheel member 28 and at the rear thereof, as well as to the arms 25 carried by the motor truck and supporting the lower ifth wheel member.

'Ihe present application is a division of my prior application Serial No. 446,869, filed April'- 24, 1930.

The invention in its broader aspects is not' limited to the specific mechanisms shown and described but departures may be made therefrom within the scope of the accompanying claims without departing from the principles of the invention and without sacrificing its chief advantages. Y

What I claim is:-

l. In a coupling device for semi-trailers including a plate having a slot therein, a king pin to enter said slot and be held therein, the combination of a pair of locking members, one on either side of said slot, pivoted and normally having their free ends in contact with each other and adjacent to said pin and each provided with a spiral slot, slidable means mounted on said plate and provided with pins engaging in said 2. In a coupling device for semi-trailers including a plate having a slot therein, a king pin to enter said slot and be secured therein, the combination of a pair of locking members each provided with a camming slot, one on either side of said slot and pivotally movable into pin securing position, slidable means mounted on said plate and carrying pins cooperating with said camming slots to connect said means and members for oscillating said members by movement of said means.

3. In a coupling device for semi-trailers in-l cluding a plate having a slot therein, a king pin to enter said slot and be secured therein, the combination of a pair of locking members each provided with a camming slot, one on either side of said slot and movable into pin securing position, means movably mounted on said plate and carrying pins cooperating with said camming slots to connect said members and means for moving said members to pin locking and unlocking posi--` tions by movement of said means.

4. In a coupling device for semi-trailers including an annular plate having a radial slot thereinlto cooperate with a plate having a central king pin, the combination of a pivoted lockingrmember formed with a camming slot movable to obstruct said opening and retain a king pin therein, a member slidably mounted in said rst plate and provided with a projecting pin to engage in the camming slot in said locking member.

5. In a coupling device for semi-trailers including an annular plate having a radial slot therein to cooperate with a plate having a central king pin, the combination of a pair of locking members each provided with a camming slot, one on either side of said slot projecting centrally of said annular plate and pivoted on their ends away from said king pin, a member slidable in said plate and having a forked end carrying operating members projecting into said camming slot in said locking members to spread or move them together.

6. In a coupling device for semi-trailers including an annular plate having a radial slot therein to cooperate with a king pin supported on a semi-trailer, the combination of a pair of locking members each provided with a camming 'l5 slot, pivoted one on either side of said slot, and normally centrally directed towards each other, an operating member slidably mounted in said plate and provided with a forked end to surround said pin, pins carried by said forked end and projecting into said camming slots to move said locking members to unlocking position by movement of said operating member.

7. In a coupling device for semi-trailers including a plate having a slot therein, a king pin to enter said slot and be secured therein, the combination of a pivoted locking member to be moved to slot obstructing position to secure said pin against uncoupling movement, an operating member movably mounted on said plate and a cooperating pin and slot connection between said operating and locking members formed by a slot position.

in one of said members and a pin carried by the other side members for reversibly moving either member by movement of the other.

8. In a coupling device for semi-trailers including a plate'having a slot therein, a king pin to enter said slot and be secured therein, the combination of pivoted locking members, one on each side of said slot said members being directed towards each other and said pin in coupled position and provided with slots, an operating member slidably mounted on said plate and provided with a forked end to t around said pin, pins on said fork and engaging in said slotl and means normally tending to move said operating and locking members to pin securing 15 HOWARD E. SWIFT. 

